SKOPJE (North Macedonia) - Belgium and Poland have reason to celebrate as they have reached the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B Final and subsequently secured promotion to Division A.
The beaten Semi-Finalists, Portugal and Czechia, still have a chance to join them. They will meet in the Third Place Game with the winner earning promotion.
Poland defeated Czechia 76-64 in a fiercely contested Semi-Final to seal their spot in next year's FIBA U16 EuroBasket tournament.
In contrast, the result looked a little clearer at half-time with Poland up by double digits. However, Czechia fought back to make it a one-possession game late on until a late 8-0 run from the Poles sealed a hard-fought win.
Lukasz Lysek led Poland with 13 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting, with Hubert Swirydowicz adding 11 points and 8 rebounds. Jan Kopecky had a game-high 21 for Czechia.
Earlier, Belgium took the lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back, sealing a 71-60 victory over Portugal to advance to the Final. After taking a 24-16 lead after the opening 10 minutes, Belgium went up a gear, as Aaron Ona Embo led with 24 points and 5 rebounds.
Portugal were led by 16 points from point guard Sebastiao Faro, but were hampered by committing 24 turnovers, which led to their downfall.
Final
Belgium vs Poland
Third Place Game
Portugal vs Czechia
FIBA